Progress continues on Beacon Lite Road project in northern El Paso County but some neighbors frustrated
Scott Harrison
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Crews are in their fifth month of making $8 million in improvements to a 2/3-mile stretch of Beacon Lite Road between Bricker Road and Wakonda Way, a mile south of the Douglas County line.
In a release issued on Monday, county officials said that the project is still in its beginning phase — to include trench excavation, utility relocations, and storm sewer installations.
The goal is to increase safety along the hilly, winding, and fairly narrow stretch, having several bends, bumpy road conditions, steep banks, and issues with erosion and drainage.
Crews also will remove the sharpest bend on the south end of the construction zone by building a new road segment there.
However, some neighbors have told KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior that they are surprised by the number of trees removed for construction.
According to those neighbors — who declined to be interviewed — the trees blocked the sight of traffic on Interstate 25 less than a mile to the east, and absorbed much of the traffic noise.
Neighbors can now see and hear that traffic, as they watch the rumbling of large trucks involved in earthmoving through the construction zone.
“This isn’t what we expected,” said one homeowner. “I wish we had had known more about what the impacts would be.”
The construction has also required crews to temporarily remove fences along Beacon Lite in the construction area.
Still, many residents agree with the need for the safety improvements, while worrying about dust created by construction.
The affected stretch is unpaved, and paving will be the final step before the project’s expected completion this fall; some neighbors fear that paving the road will encourage people to drive faster on it.
It’s unclear whether the county has reached agreements with two property owners on acquiring easements that would extend the project 1/3 of a mile north, to the Beacon Lite/County Line Road intersection.